Method and apparatus for reconditioning paper stock



May 22, 1934. wm I 1,950,106

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR RECONDITIONING PAPER STOCK Filed Oct. 8. 1952 5 Sheets-Sneet 1 F. GREWIN May 22 1934.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR RECONDITIONING PAPER STOCK Filed Oct. 8; 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 22, 1934. 5 wm 1,960,106

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR RECOND-ITIONING PAPER STOCK Filed Oct. 8. 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 May 22, 1934. F. GREWIN 1,960,106

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR RECONDITIONING PAPER STOCK Filed Oct. 8. 1932 h 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 F. GREWIN 1,960,106

METHOD AND APPARATUS FQI RECONDITIONING PAPER STOCK May 22, 1934.

5 Silents-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 8. 1932 Patented May 22, 1934 Q I v a osrrsnsm'rss PATENT cams ME'rnon AND ArrsaA'rnsTFoaoREooNm- TIONING PAPER STOCK Fredrik Grewin, Hallstavik, Sweden, a igns; to American Voith Contact Company, 1310., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Yen;

Application (Ectober s, 1932', Serial a 636,886 In Germany October 15, 1931 21 claims.- (01. 92-20) The invention concerns a method and devices requirements of the present systems are consid' for a continuous reconditioning of paper broke, erably reduced in the new method. waste papers, ground wood pulp, chemical pulp A further and very important feature of the and similar materials and the conveying of these Invention is the avoidance of any danger 'of fire materials from the various places in the paper which is very great in the present systems due mill at which they accrue to the reconditioning to a high degree of static electricity beingpresent apparatus. It has for its purpose the eliminain the broke. The presence of paper dust and tion of manual labor for collecting, transporting inflammable oil Vapors makes this fire danger a and working up of these materials, -a further obvery real-one, but this danger is entirely eliminatjg' ject being the thickening of the pulp mass to ed in the present invention where the brokeis 5 any desired degree of consistency. subject to an energetic moistening immediately It isa well-known fact that in themanufacupon its accumulation. I, ture of paper rather large quantities of broke Furthermore, through the complete soaking accrue at the rear part of the paper machine of the broke paper in a trough-located beneath 5' and in the case of paper machines operating at the paper machine a shortening of the disinhigh speed the broke quantities are considerable tegrating process is obtained; By means of the and pile up quickly in loose heaps in the madissolvingmachine forming another important chine room basement underneath the paper mafeature of the invention, in combination with a chine; This broke is composed of the sheet circulation pump, a complete separation and edges continuously. out off on the slitter or the preparation of the fibers is obtained which relongitudinal cutter to which is added the waste sults in producing stock ready for the paper maaccruing in irregular amounts in case the paper chine chest or head box which'does not require sheet breaks at the cooling cylinder, the calen any additional refining treatment but can didar or the reel. This broke can be reduced toa rectly be returned into the manufacturing ,proc

5 pulp and reintroduced into the manufacturing ess. It is furthermore possible to give this fully process, waste papers, ground wood, chemical disintegrated stock the same consistency as that pulp in rolls, sheets, etc. can also be reduced to prevailing in the stock chest or head box or at pulp and so used; All former methods require any place in the stock preparing process; much transportation of the materials as in many As described, the invention comprises a thor- 39 cases the placesat which broke accrues or where ough water moistening of the unevenly accruing the waste papers, pulp sheets etc. are stored are broke at or near the places at-thepaper machine located quite a distance from the place where where it accrues, the collection of the moistened they are disposed of. Furthermore, the storage broke in a trough, its continuous feeding to the and reconditioning plants require much space disintegrating apparatus positioned adjacent to 3 and therefore considerable expense for buildings the trough, and the disintegrationproperof the etc. while the working up of the materials in a material in a" closed circuit in a disintegrator comparatively dry condition requires much powchest and a rotating pump: er and causes great wear and tear on the equip- A particularly advantageous arrangement for ment. The danger of fire breaking out in such transporting the broke to the collecting trough 40 installations is considerable and special precauand to the-broke chest is obtained'byproviding tions must be taken in this respect as for inunderneath that part of thefpapermachine where stance erecting fire walls in the paper machine the largest amount of broke accrues,- as for inroom basement, which requires great expendi stance, underneath the s'moothingpress; reel or tures. I slitter, a conical housing; the side walls of the 1 It is the purpose of the present invention to same having openings through which the inner change fundamentally and to improve the prewall surfaces can be sprinkled with water. By sent methods for reconditioning broke, waste this arrangement, it is no longer necessary to papers, etc. By extensively and thoroughly mois have the chest for receiving the brokeand the tening the broke, etc., the accumulations of apparatus for dissolving itextend over the whole 5 large voluminousamounts'of it are preventedand width of thep'aper machine; furthermore-the the difficulty eliminated in removing the brake spilling of pieces of broke during the filling of'the which is subject to great variations'both as"to chest is'positively avoided. time and amount of its accrual; Allthe manual The moistening of the brokeis'eifect'ed' by havlabor hitherto required for transporting the ing jets of water play on bothsides ofthe'she et,

5 broke is done away with, while the large'power thereby moving same downward positively and in a predetermined direction. The broke coming from the several parts of the paper machine, .as for instance, the cooling cylinder, the smoothing press, winder, etc.,' is collected in a water filled trough located underneath the paper machine and is completely soaked inthe chest. The dimensions of the trough are so chosen that it can receive the largest amount of broke accruing at any time, which broke is soaked in the trough,-

and is then removed from it in substantially uniform quantities. The continuous movingof the material to the disintegrating machine proper is effected by means of a fluid current entering the trough at its one end, or may be effected by suitable transportation means, it being possible to use as carrying fluid what is called white water or stock water taken from the disintegrating process and in which is contained more or less disintegrated broke material which, in order to obtain its complete disintegration, must again pass through the disintegrating apparatus.

The disintegrating apparatus which can be located by itself and used for this or a similar purpose, is a vat open at the top and provided with a shaft which'toward the inlet side is supported eccentrically to the longitudinal axis of the vat and provided with disks. These disks subject the moistened paper to a tearing, beating and kneading action which can be augmented by plates etc. by stationary plates extending between the disks. In relation to its dimensions the disintegration capacity of the apparatus is very large inasmuch as the disintegrator shaft acts continuously on the stock which cannot escape .but is again and again brought under the action of a disintegrator or scooper or impeller disk. This action influences to a large degree the disintegration of the stock which in other respects depends upon the grade of the material to be defibered, i. e.,' the' degree of sizing and the intensity of the preceding moistening action. Thus, with mildly sized and thoroughly soaked papers the action of the apparatus will bring about quickly a full defibering, while heavily sized papers require repeated passages through the apparatus.

According to the invention a container'for receiving the partly or fully defibered stock isconnected with the disintegrating apparatus. working up certain grades of paper, this container can be made in one piece so that from it a part of the separated stock is directly brought to the place where it is reintroduced into the manufacturing process, while the rest is used for moistening and as carrying means for freshly introduced broke. In most cases it. will, however,

' be necessary to subject the stock coming from the disintegrating. apparatus once or several times more to the deflbering actionof the disintegrator shaft. For this purpose the container is provided with two compartments. The stock coming from 'the disintegrating apparatus is passed through a rake or sieve and by means of a centrifugal pump which itself influences the disintegrating process very favorably, is brought back to the vat entrance end, where it assists in the moistening and transportation of the freshly fed broke.

integrator unit to a paper machine in a section in the direction of the paper run;

Figure 4 is a plan view of Figure 3;

Figure 5 shows another application similar to Fig. 3 but with the room underneath the paper machine only partly excavated; f

' Figure 6 is a plan view of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a particularly advantageous arrangement of the soaking bin in a section in the direction of the run of the paper sheet; and

Figure 8 is a cross section of Figure 7.

Referring to the drawings and more particularly to Figures 1 and 2, the disintegrator unit comprises a soaking trough A filled with Water,

a disintegrator compartment B positioned adjacent to trough A, and a rotary pump D which draws from the compartment C of the collecting vat C, said vat C being separated from the disintegrator compartment B by means of a rake or wire darn wall b Pump D pumps the major part of the partly dissolved stock collected in compartment C through pipe line d back to the soaking trough A which rests on supports a the stock entering the soaking trough evenly distributed and at substantial speed through orifices (2 In the soaking trough A the partly dissolved stock is mixed with the new broke in' sheet form, moistens it and carries it towards disintegrato-r compartment B. A paddle shaft a equipped with paddle arms a immerses the still partly voluminous sheets and thereby assists in their beingcompletely soaked. Shower pipes d directed against the paddle arms a clean the same of any sheet particles which should have a tendency of adhering to the arms. The curved adjustable weir a has the purpose of keeping back any floating sheets and directing them towards disintegrator arms b mounted on disintegrator shaft b It is a further purpose of the adjustable weir a to regulate the level of the stock in the soaking trough A.

For thinning and conveying purposes, a small part of the stock mixture is brought by the pump D by means of an orifice pipe (1 connected with pipe d at d and is reintroduced into the system at the place where disintegrator arms b cut the sheets between the knife shaped plates 19*. Through this, the tearing and disintegrating work in the chest, in which the stock is kept in circulation through the spirally positioned disintegrator arms N, is materially assisted. For keeping the openings of the rake or wire dam wall Z) free from clogging up, a rotating brush or quill roll b is provided, the roll or scraper being driven from shaft'b by means of a belt 1). Therefore, only partly dissolved material can get into compartment 0 from which the pump .D draws, this partly dissolved material passing several times through the pump which is specially designed for the low pressure head 1,.

and disintegrator Work, and through this process a uniform disintegration of the stock is obtained. The heavier mass in compartment C sinks to the bottom and is taken up by the pump D.

'Through the short operating circle of the pump gr during which the broke paper accepts the moisture of the stock in the system, a quick and complete disintegration is obtained as well as any desired consistency of the stock, which is returned to the orifices d The lighter and substantially finished stock passes from compartment C to compartment C A further centrifugal pump E, controlled by valve 6 with float e draws the stock out of a second compartment C which is separated from compartment C by a wire or overflow wall C This-pump exerts a further disintegrating action upon the stock and conveys the fully defiberedstock through the pipe line e to the place where it is to be reintroduced into the manufacturing system. a

The disintegrating unit as described can be located at any place in the mill best suited for-the purpose of defibering paper in sheets, ground wood and chemical pulp and similar materials. The raw undefibered stock can be brought to the disintegrating unit in any suitable manner;

Figures 3 and 4 illustrate the application of the novel disintegrating apparatus to a paper machine. The broke is produced at several places of the machine rather far distant from each other. So, forinstance, broke is made at times when breaks in the paper sheet occur while it is being guided from one part of the machine to the other, while at the slitter or longitudinal cutter there is a continuous accrual of broke from cutting off the edges, etc. Depending upon the grade of paper made, the amount of broke represents a smaller or larger percentage of the total production. When through a combination of circumstances a large amount of broke is made at times, this broke interferes with the proper operation of the paper machine and increases the danger of fire, particularly if the paper machine is electrically driven.

According to the present invention a trough A of any suitable length is provided underneath the paper machine for receiving the broke dropping down from the paper machine above, said broke being moved towards the disintegrator chest by means of the stock current entering through orifices d As the broke drops down, shower pipes located at various places below the paper-making machine as shown moisten it with water. Through the action of these shower pipes f and of trough A, all danger of fire is eliminated, resulting in a reduction of the insurance risk and in cheaper building construction. Walls g and g are arranged slopingly so that under the action of air or water shower pipes f the broke slides downward on .them. Through this arrangement the length of the trough A can be made short with consequent saving in space. It is not necessary to make the length of disintegrator chest B the same as the width of the trough A, which latter extends over the whole width of the paper machine, soas to act as a catch basin. Circulation pump D and pump E can, for instance, also be connected at the lower central part of the collecting compartment C and C respectively as shown in Figure 4. The operation of the other parts shown in Figures 3 and 4 is the same as described in connection with Figures 1 and 2. r

As a further illustration of the invention Figures 5 and 6 shows the same applied to a paper machine for which the basement is'only partly excavated. Where no space is available, trough A can be replaced by a chain conveyor H, or some similar conveying means, without removing the advantages of the compact arrangement or the avoidance of danger of fire. Shower pipes f moisten the paper. The wooden drags h of chains h which latter are moved by chain wheels 71. positioned on shafts h move the moistened broke towards the disintegrator chest B. Guide strips 71 guide the paper into the chest and an adjustable scraper h holds back the paper, if it should momentarily come in too large quantities.

The sloping arrangement of walls g make it in In Figures 5 and 6, forexample, the adjustable and oscillating scraper b is shown'as being actuated from the distintegrator shaft by the crank 17 moving in the slotted bar b Other parts in Figures 5 and'6 similar to those in Figures 1 and 2 operate in the same manner as described in connection with Figures 1 and 2.

The trough mayalso be formed cone-shaped. Atop of a chest B in which a runner 17 provided with breaker arms b is rotatably mounted, a cone-shaped housing A rises up to the paper machine fioor. Its side walls 9 and end walls gf slope inwardly towards chest B, so that in both length and width chest B has substantially smaller dimensions than the broke entrance opening at the upper part of cone shaped housing A The upper part of the trough A extends belowthe paper making machine as shown in Figures '7 and 8. In order to prevent accumulation of broke on the highly sloping side walls g and g these walls according to the invention are provided with vertical gaps or openings g through which the inner parts of the walls are continuously sprayed with water by means of the pipes P. This has theeffoot that the broke at the moment of its coming in contact with thehousing walls of the trough A comes under the action of a downward stream of water and is flushed down so that its clinging to the walls 9 and g is efiectively prevented. The design of the walls in the present case is so chosen that they consist of individual over lapping sections, sufficient space being provided at the point of overlapping between each two sections for the arrangement of shower pipes f In actual practice, the connection of two successive wall sections can be effected by connecting them through a U-iron as shown, the U affording space for the shower pipe.

The disintegrator chest is provided on one side with an overflow, as for instance perforated plate biconnected with a discharge compartment C through which the broke flows away upon its having attained a sufficient degree of stock in circulation, or by the chain conveyors.

The high transportation expenses resulting from the use of manual labor are thereby eliminated. Furthermore, the repulping process proper does not require any manual labor and the plant, once set, continues to operate automatically. It automatically equalizes the uneven accrual of broke, waste paper, etc., on account of dam boards (a and h holding back the material fora thorough soaking. Through this energetic soaking the work to be done in the distintegrator unitis reduced which, in turn, reduces the power requirements of the latter. The final defibering of the small stock particles is efiected through the action of the circulation pump which latter operates evenly and positively and on account of the low static head also requires little power;

placeof accrual.

The method, furthermore, has the'advantage of resulting ina quick: defibering and makes it possible to quickly recondition the broke for reuse which is particularly important when fre quent changes of grade and color are necessary.

In the above, the particular application of the invention and of the component parts forreconditioning the broke comingdrorh the paper machine have been described; it is evident, however, that the invention is equally well adapted for the disintegration of old papers, waste papers, ground wood and chemical pulp, etc.

In each embodiment described the broke-is first wetted, then disfntegratedthen subjected to a pumping action and'returned to the disintegrating action, and finally enters the end compartment C from. which vit is removed and can be used in paper-making... There is, therefore, a continuous and circulatory movement of the initial broke, when converted into its disintegrated parts until the defibering and consistency are such that it can be, used as paper pulps in the manufacture of paper. This novel method is exemplified in. the structure shown in Figures 1 and 2; and in order to take care of the broke as it comes directly from the paper-mak ng machine, the structure of-Figures 1 and 2 has the trough A extended to embrace the part of the paper-making machine from whichthe broke falls and collectingwalls extend from the trough to below that part of the machine, as shown in the structure of Figures 3 and 4.- S'milarly, ,the structure of Figures 5 andfi extends below the paper-making machine, the apron mechanism feeding into the trough A, which is correspondingly reduced, though it may extend laterally to take the place of the apron mechanism, though the basement is only partially excavated. 'Finally, the cone-shaped trough of the structure of Figures 7 and 8 extends' substantiall the length and with of that part of the papersmaking machine, and below the same,.irom' which thebroke falls. In each case, of Figures 3 to 8, the apparatus described acts'asa' catch-ail for the broke and then acts ,automatcally to disintegrate the same, until it attains that defibering and consistency to enable it to act as a paper pulp in the manufacture of paper.

sp'rit of the inventionas defined in theclaims;

I claim: Y. y 1 1. A device of the character as described, including the .arrangementof a trough compartment for the accrual of broke showerpipes underneath andon both sides of the places of accrual'of the broke, said shower pipes extending over the Whole Width of the paper-makhg machine, and means for immersingthe broke at the 2. In a device or" disintegrator unit having a shaft arranged eccentrically at the inlet side of disintegrator chest, and having disintegrator arms, said disintegrator arms beng spaced from each other, said spacings being the -manifold'oi the Width of said disinthe character described, a-

tegrator arms, and a plurality of compartments forthe collection ,of pulp material of different fineness reduced by said unit.

3. A device of the character described, including a disintegrator, a compartment, a coarser rake or wire between the disintegrator and the compartment, a second compartment, and of a fine rake between the compartments.

4. A device of the. character described, including a trough, a disintegrator, a compartment laterally of the disintegrator, a pump for conveying the soaked and disintegrated stock from the compartment to the trough, a plurality of orifices arranged in spacings over the width of the trough for disintegrating the pumped mate rial in the trough.

5. The method for the continuous reconditioning of paper-broke, waste papers, ground wood pulp, chemical pulp, etc. into paper pulp, which consists in subjecting broke and the like to a preliminary moistening action to a crumbling and immersing action, then to a mechanical disintegration, then to' a pumping action while removing some of the more finely reduced broke, and repeating these actions until a paper pulp is produced of a consistency and freeness suitable for paper-"making.

6. 'The method for the continuous reconditioning-of paper broke, waste papers, and the like into paper pulp, which consists in collecting the paper broke, subjecting the broke and the repeating these actions until apaper pulp is produced of a consistency and freeness suitable for paper-making, said actions of collecting and subsequent treatments being automatic and continuous.- I a '7. An apparatus for the continuous reconditioning of paper broke, waste papers, ground :wood pulp, chemical pulp, etc. into paper pulp,

including a trough for the collection of paper broke, a disintegrating mechanism in communication with the trough, asettling compartment in connection, with: the disintegrating mechanism, a pump connected with;the compartment for re.- ceiving the mass in the lower part of the compartment and returning it ,to the trough, and a compartment in communication with the first compartment for receiving the upper part of th mass in the firstcompartment.

8. An apparatus for the continuous reconditioning of paper broke, waste papers, ground wood pulp, chemical pulp, etc. into paper pulp, according to claim 7, in which thetrough extends the length and breadth of part of a paper-mak ing machine and belowthe same, to receive the broke from thepaper-making machine.

9. An apparatus for the continuous reconditioning of paper broke, waste papers, ground wood pulp, chemical pulp, etc. into paper pulp,

according to claim '7, in which the trough is provided with sloping extensions.

10. An apparatus for the continuous reconditioning of paper broke, waste papera ground wood pulp, chemical pulp, etc. into paper pulp, according to claim '7, in which water jets are provided below th paper-making machine, and directed towards the trough.

tioning of paper broke, waste papers, groundwood pulp, chemical pulp, etc. into paper pulp, according to claim 7, inwhich jets are provided along the extensions to direct the broke to the trough.

12. An apparatus for the continuous recondi- 11. Anapparatus'for the continuous reconditioning of paper broke, waste papers, ground wood pulp, chemical pulp, etc. into paper pulp, according to claim 7 in which a feeder for the broke is placed in advance of the disintegrating mechanism, and a baflle weir is placed therebetween.

13. An apparatus for the continuous reconditioning of paper broke, waste papers, ground wood pulp, chemical pulp, etc. into paper pulp, according to claim '7, in which a separator is placed in front of the first compartment to prevent broke from passing into the compartment.

14. An apparatus for the continuous reconditioning of paper broke, waste papers, ground wood pulp, chemical pulp, etc. into paper pulp, according to claim '7, in which the disintegrating mechanism is provided with rotating blades, and fixed. abutments laterally of the blades, between which abutments the blades enter.

15. Apparatus for the treatment of broke, comprising a trough, a plurality of inlet conduits in connection with the trough, means extending the width of the trough for immersing the broke, an adjustable member for removing paper adhering to said means, a disintegrating unit for the broke, and means for by-passing some of the disintegrated broke and for recirculating some of the remaining broke.

16. A device of the character described, including a collecting trough mounted as a substitute for the ordinary broke pit below a paper making machine at the delivery end of the same and extending to the whole width of the machine, means for admission and collection of water in said trough for receiving and soaking of all the broke as it accrues, and a disintegrator unit mounted at one end of the trough and comprising a shaft provided with disintegrator arms mounted in a spaced relation to each other, the spacing between them being a manifold of the axial dimension of said arms.

17. A device of the character described, including a disintegrator, a compartment, a coarser rake or wire between the disintegrator and the compartment, a second compartment, of a fine rake between the compartments, and an actuable cleaning member adapted to coact with the openings of the rake iorfreeing them from stock accumulations.

18. A process for treatment ofpaper waste or broke arising in paper-making machines, consisting in subjecting the dry broke as it accrues at the delivery end of the paper-making machine to a sprinkling with water, directing the sprinkling jets so as to cause a downward pull on the broke as it descends into the broke pit below the machine, subjecting the broke thus soaked to a disintegration, and continuously removing the pulp formed.

19. A process for treatment of paper waste or broke arising in paper-making machines, consisting in subjecting the broke as it accrues at the delivery end of the paper-making machine to a sprinkling with water so as to pre-soak the same, directing the sprinkling jets so as to cause a downward pull on the broke as it descends into the broke pit below the machine, subjecting the broke to an additional soaking when at hand in the broke pit, conveying the soaked broke from said pit to an adjacent disintegrating machine and subjecting the same to a disintegrating action, and continuously removing from the disintegrator the completely disintegrated pulp formed therein.

20. A process for treatment of paper waste or broke arising in paper-making machines, consisting in subjecting the broke as it accrues at the delivery end of the paper-making machine to a sprinkling with water so as to pre-soak the same,

broke to an additional soaking when at hand in the broke pit, conveying the soaked broke from said pit to an adjacent disintegrating machine and subjecting the same to a disintegrating action, continuously removing from the disintegrator the completely disintegrated pulp formed therein, and separating and discharging from the disintegratorinsufiiciently disintegrated broke mass and re-circulating the same through the disintegrator and the broke pit'for a repeated soaking in the latter.

21. A process for treatment of paper waste or broke arising in paper-making machines, consisting in subjecting the broke as it accrues at the delivery end of the paper making machine to a sprinkling with water, directing the sprinkling jets so as to cause a downward pull on the broke 

